Why is the house not sold 13 years after death

[Sunbeds]

I have to say from the start that this house doesn’t belong to me or a relative. I just live in the house attached and I want to sell mine.
The old man died 13 years ago. He had a simple will. Left it split 75% to his daughter and 25% to his son. The will was very straightforward - half a page. They got probate quickly.
13 years on though the house is derelict, no one lives there. The daughter lives 200 miles away and occasionally visits. Has a gardener to mow the lawn. She must be in her 70s now. She’s absolutely not rich.
I am struggling to sell my house because of this mess next door.
I think she tried to burn it down. Set a log fire in the open hearth and went out. Place full of smoke! Denied it of course.
Property is still in the old man’s name.
She won’t discuss it.
What could be going on behind the scenes? What can I do?
At my wits end.

In some areas the local council can force a sale of an empty house. Don't know if that applies, but is the council aware?
Sorry. It sounds a horrendous situation.

Take it up with The Council, they can force action on properties that cause problems

https://fraserbond.com/blog/article/steps-to-take-when-faced-with-an-abandoned-house-next-door-in-the-uk-b7012

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/unsightly-and-derelict-housing/

Dear God what a horrifying situation to live next door to. I hope you can find a way to exert legal pressure via the council as suggested OP. It must be so upsetting to not be able to sell due to this.
Very best of luck.

Is it a hoarders mess? If so I'd notify the council about vermin and fire risk (not sure which dept - housing?) If the gardener is mowing the lawn is the garden relatively tidy or full of junk?
We have a similar derelict probate property near us (not next door though) that is a mess and the neighbours are worried about squatters breaking in. Our council have cleared the garden though. The elderly executor aparently never visits (not sure they're even still alive).

A house in my Mums street lay empty for 30 years after the owner died. The son just refused to sell it. Neighbours did everything to try and force a sale with no success.

He finally sold it 33 years after his mother's death by which time the house had basically fallen to bits and needed rebuilt

We have the same problem with my parent's property. This house is also almost derelict.

The problem with us is the executor won't put the house up for sale. The only option is to remove her as executor and sell the house ourselves. The money could then go to the beneficiaries and the neighbours would be relieved to not live next to a crumbling rat and spider infested hellhole.

Problem is, we can't afford the legal costs to remove the executor and get the house sold so we're stuck. The house rots, the neighbours are upset and the beneficiaries (grandchildren) can't access their inheritance.

I sympathise.

That sound horrendous, on the legal fees could you see if a solicitor would take it on on a no win no fee basis once it’s sold? Assuming you’d have the money to pay from the profit once it was sold?

Who is the executor?

I suggest that you should at least take legal advice as litigation friends of th grandchildren and you may be able to get help on a conditional fee basis to remove the executor and claim costs and loss if income from them.

You say the property is still in the father's name (on the Land Registry?) So who is paying the council tax - is it registered as empty with the council?
It sounds like there may have been a falling out between siblings - maybe she doesn't want to sell and give 25% of the proceeds to her DB?

I expect they either are deluded and think it’s worth more than it is so are refusing to sell or they’re just burying their heads in the sand. If it’s still in the deceased’s name they’re going to have a heck of a capital gains tax bill after 13 years 😬

Thanks for your reply. The executor is my sister, one of the beneficiaries is her son, the other 2 beneficiaries are my DC.

Problem is sister suffers from psychosis but can appear coherent at times, not at others, and lives in assisted living. She's wealthy so maybe we could mention she'd be liable for costs if nothing changes. Worth a try.

Please can you explain about CGT in this situation as I have no idea how it works. My dad died 7 years ago and the house was in his sole name. The house and whole estate went to my mum but, despite me nagging, she's never put the house in her own name. Will this cause a problem?

The houses are attached?

The fire sounds really scary and dangerous, whether or not it was intentional!

Worth pointing out that the beneficiaries could sue her when they turn 18

You may also be in the firing line if you dont take action

https://www.nelsonslaw.co.uk/remove-executor-after-probate/

https://www.human-law.co.uk/_cmroot/human-law.co.uk/blog/what-are-the-dos-and-do-nots-of-removing-executors.aspx

Removing an executor shouldn't be too onerous particularly as you have enough evidence of their failure to administer the estate,which is their duty to do.

Surely this is worth taking out a small loan if you really don't have any cash and getting a solicitor to make an application or act as Litigant in Person If thats out of the question.
You are asking a Judge to make a decision on something you can demonstrate with strong evidence isn't happening as it should.

If nothing else report it on youspot property.com, they pay you £20 in Amazon vouchers if the empty propertys not been reported before, then if they then buy it you get 2% of the sale value. The house next door to me has been empty for 3 years so I have had my voucher. It also seems to have given the owner a push as they have been round this week taking photos so it can go to auction 🥳

She should seek legal advice.

A relative of my husband's died three years ago. One of the other beneficiaries got so fed up with the executor taking so long that they went to a lawyer who specialises in probate matters, I think it was under £1000 fee, house went to auction and now has sold.

The beneficiaries are over 18 now, it's been 7 years. I've offered to pay for a solicitor's appointment for advice but at least one beneficiary has to go with me. No-one's interested.

I'm not an executor or beneficiary so don't have power or responsibility to take action. The most I can do is keep the front garden tidy or turn an alarm off at the request of the long-suffering neighbours.

I'll check the links and see if there's a way forward, thanks for your help.

"Problem is sister suffers from psychosis but can appear coherent at times, not at others, and lives in assisted living."

Has she actually been diagnosed with a mental disability/illness?

If so, this is likely grounds enough to apply to remove her as executor as she is incapable of performing her duties.

You would need to speak to a solicitor about this.

Are the children under 18? If so, who are the named trustees? If your sister is also one of the Trustees then that doesn't help, but if the Trustees do not include your sister then the Trustees can act to sell the house.

Never heard of this.
I've just reported one (it says 1% on their site) which has been empty for years and is a total mess.

At the time of death the house transfers, and the CGT resets to zero, however in 7 years the house will have increased in value.
Unless it is someones primary residence who is selling it, CGT will be due on the sale on the increase in value.

In terms of it being in her name, that is not a problem, so long as she got probate around the time of death and had a valuation for that purpose, in writing. This will make it easy to sort out the CGT owed, with the probate in place the land registry can be changed at any time.

Ah that’s interesting 🤔
I wonder if the chancellor changes the rules, might she sell? Isn’t she rumoured to be increasing capital gains tax.
Thank you for the replies everyone xx

Yes, but that might make them even less likely to sell!

Presumably because, either, the son and daughter can't or won't agree on what to do. Or, they just don't want to sell. There's a renowned property, like this, where I live. It's on a prime sea front location, huge corner plot, would now be worth a million plus if developed. But the two brothers (also now elderly) who inherited it, aren't doing anything with it. It is derelict but they do employ people to keep the outside and the garden relatively well kept, so as not to cause too much uproar presumably. New people to the area occasionally ask on local FB what the story is and why no one is doing anything, but presumably they can't.

Editing to say this has been ongoing for twenty five years!